‘He loved you both. Loves you, I should say,’ he corrects himself. ‘He was in a complete state when he rang. He told me about the eyeball in the snow globe.’
I close my eyes briefly. ‘Shit.’
‘When were you going to tell me about that?’
‘Never.’
‘Yet you went to Louise behind my back,’ he says, his tone accusing.
‘Louise had no right to—’
‘She hasn’t said a word. Your dad told me you’d spoken to her, that’s all.’ He shakes his head as though he’s disappointed. ‘You and Louise. I thought she was my friend. The two of you kept me out of the loop on this.’
‘Don’t blame Louise. She wasn’t happy about it either. I just didn’t want you to find out about . . . my family history. About how bad Rachel was. The things she did.’ I finish fiercely: ‘I wanted you to think I’m normal.’
‘Baby, I do think you’re normal. A perfectly normal woman with a perfectly normal reaction to disgusting things like eyeballs being sent to you through the post.’ His arms tighten round me. ‘Where is it now?’ he asks.
I have to think for a moment. ‘Louise still has it.’
‘Good. She can keep it.’
‘I’m sure my dad sent it. He’s the only one who had the opportunity. Except for Mum. And I can’t see her even looking at an eyeball, let alone stuffing one inside a snow globe as a nasty trick.’
‘Sweetheart, your dad asked me to keep a close eye on you while you get through this. Begged me, even.’ Dominic pulls back, studying me with sympathy. ‘That doesn’t sound like someone intent on upsetting you, does it?’
‘I guess not.’
‘Your dad was very explicit on the phone.’ His voice deepens with significance. ‘He told me to watch out for you, to make sure you don’t do anything stupid. That’s why I was checking under the sink earlier. In case you had some . . . I don’t know . . . pills or something hidden in there. That’s when I found the snow globe.’
‘For God’s sake, I’m not suicidal.’
‘I’m glad to hear that. Because I don’t think I could live without you.’ Dominic puts a finger under my chin and tips my face up towards his, then kisses me on the lips. Slowly, and with a loving tenderness that melts my resistance.
I close my eyes and lean into his kiss. My skin tingles with anticipation, and it’s hard not to touch him back when he strokes a hand down my spine. I can’t push him away when he’s like this with me. And he bloody well knows it.
‘I agree with Robert. You need to be looked after properly. Whoever sent that snow globe is out to hurt you. To upset you.’ Dominic looks at me intently. ‘And they’ve already succeeded, haven’t they? First the snow globe, then the wedding dress . . .’
‘I still think it was Dad,’ I say. ‘I told you, he’s always been off with me. Like he thinks the wrong daughter died.’
‘That’s not true. Your dad is on your side. But whoever is doing this, it ends here. Enough is enough.’
I smile through my tears when he pulls my hand to his lips and kisses it. A typically gallant gesture, and precisely why I fell for him in the first place. Dominic may not have a white charger, but he knows how to make me feel swept off my feet.
‘If I’m going to be any kind of husband to you,’ he adds firmly, ‘I need to stop stressing about my work constantly and start thinking about you instead. I want us to start married life on the right foot, not looking behind us all the time, wondering who the hell’s out there.’ He leads me back to the bedroom, his arm about my waist. ‘Which is why I texted your dad after the police left, and agreed to his suggestion.’
My throat tightens. ‘What suggestion?’
He closes the bedroom door after us and pulls me closer, kissing my mouth. ‘That we should move into their place after the wedding,’ he says in my ear. ‘Where you’ll be safe from whoever got hold of the snow globe and sent it to you.’
I stop, pulling away from him in shock. ‘What?’
‘The top floor of their house is all ready to be turned into a mini-flat for us, your dad said. A bedroom, bathroom and sitting room. He’s been clearing it out.’ Dominic peers at me in surprise. ‘He said he told you about it.’
‘Dad told me he was tidying out Rachel’s old room. But not why.’
‘It’s a fantastic offer. Not only safer for you, but cheaper too. He says there’ll be no rent to pay. And the commute will be far shorter. We can make our own meals. We can be as self-sufficient as we want.’
‘You’ve got to be kidding.’
‘I know it goes against the grain. I know it’s not the way we imagined married life would be . . . You and me together in our cosy little flat. Nobody else around.’ He kisses me on the lips, as though trying to cajole me out of my disapproval. ‘But it’s the answer to everything. You must see that, baby. This way we can start saving for a deposit on our own place.’
‘I don’t like it.’
‘Hey, it’s not ideal, moving back in with your parents. Far from it.’ He gives a half-laugh. ‘But it wouldn’t be forever. And I know how much you get on with your mum. I thought you’d be pleased at the idea of spending more time with her. Aren’t you?’
‘Not if it means we lose . . . this.’ I look around at the untidy bedroom, my eyes misty. ‘This is our place, Dom. We’ve been happy here. So happy.’
‘And we’ll get our own place again in the future, and be happy there too. Even happier, because we’ll be owners, not tenants. Don’t you want that?’
He’s so persuasive, it’s hard to argue with him. And deep down, I know Dominic’s probably right. With everything that’s been happening lately, maybe the best option is for us to move into my parents’ home.
Like he says, it wouldn’t be forever.
I rub a hand across my face, suddenly exhausted. It’s been such a long day. ‘Yes, I suppose so. When you put it like that.’
‘That’s settled then.’
He turns off the light without any further discussion. We climb back into bed and lie together in the darkness, listening to the wind blowing and the muted sounds of traffic below.
Eventually his breathing slows, and I realise he’s asleep.
I lie there, turning events over in my mind, unable to sleep, and can see how Dad sending me the snow globe doesn’t make sense. Not after finding my wedding dress cut up tonight. I can’t imagine my father doing something that vile and creepy. And I’m not sure he’s capable of scaling our rusty old fire escape and climbing in through a bathroom window, and then rushing home to meet me for dinner. Not at his age. The same goes for Mum. And I can’t imagine that Kasia had anything to do with it.
Which means there’s only one person who could have destroyed my wedding dress.
And she’s dead.
Chapter Sixteen ‘You look beautiful,’ Dad says, patting my hand.
We are sitting in the back of the sleek white limousine as it pulls up in front of the Parish Church of Christ the Saviour in Ealing. I can see people waiting by the main entrance, the high steeple soaring above them into a grey, wintry sky. My two bridesmaids, sheltering in the arched stone porch, peek out and wave cheerily at the car. Their limo has parked further up the lane that runs beside the church. I can see the chauffeur leaning against the bonnet, having a cigarette.
My head still hurts from too many drinks last night. I hadn’t meant to go out at all. But Louise turned up at my parents’ house, where I’ve been staying alone for the past few days, with a bottle of wine and some chocolates. And then my cousin Jasmine arrived and all my careful plans for an early night were blown out of the water. An hour later, we were in the pub at the end of the road, playing a drinking game.